"​Manus x Machina"

Correspondent Serena Altschul asked Andrew Bolton, Curator in Charge of the Costume institute at The Met, whether fashion really belongs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

"Yeah, I think the ephemerality of fashion sometimes goes against its serious consideration as an art form," Bolton replied. "The fact that it's often seen located within the female domain is often another reason there's this inherent sexism around fashion. And part of our role as curators is to promote the artistry of fashion, and to promote fashion [as much] as an art form as other art forms in the museum -- sculpture, painting."

Alexander McQueen

In the summer of 2011, New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art bowed its blockbuster exhibition, "Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty," devoted to late British fashion designer.

Credit: credit

Alexander McQueen

"It was a complete surprise to us when we started to have lines around the museum," Bolton said of the McQueen show. "It was so unprepared for them as well. We don't really set out to create a blockbuster, per se."

"​Manus x Machina"

"#techstyle"

At Boston's Museum of Fine Art, an exhibit called "#techstyle" (through July 10) explores the intersection between technology and fashion.

Pictured: A coated leather "Air" cape from British designer Lauren Bowker's The Unseen 2015 Air Collection.

Credit: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

"#techstyle"

"The attendance for fashion shows has been extraordinary," co-curator Lauren Whitley told Altschul. "Fashion shows bring in lots of people. We don't own cars, but we all own clothes, and they are very intimate to our experiences as human beings."

"#techstyle"

To "#techstyle" co-curator Lauren Whitley, museum fashion exhibits are more than just a trend. "We've actually been showing fashion shows since the 1930s," she said. "There have been frequently occasions where major artists were interested in fashion. Picasso was involved with the stage; Coco Chanel with Hollywood. One of the most interesting was Elsa Schiaparelli, who was very close with a circle of surrealists like Dali."

"#techstyle"

Pop star Viktoria Modesta wears an artificial leg, "The Spike," designed by Sophie de Oliveira de Barata of the Alternative Limb Project. From the exhibition "#techstyle."

"We have to remember fashion designers are artists," said Whitley. "There is a huge aesthetic drive behind creating fashion, and it is one of the decorative arts, like ceramics, like furniture, like jewelry."

Isaac Mizrahi

For Mizrahi, museum-worthy fashion falls into two categories: historically significant or visually mesmerizing.

"I think that Alexander McQueen stands on its own, right? You could have looked at that 100 years ago, or 100 years from now. It's the craft of it, you know? Whereas like, again, Chanel or Halston was such a thing about the time that they lived in."

Credit: Jason Frank Rothenberg/The Jewish Museum

Isaac Mizrahi

Mizrahi's "The Real Thing" (Spring 1994) used paillettes made from real Coca-Cola cans.

Credit: Jason Frank Rothenberg/The Jewish Museum

Isaac Mizrahi

Installation view of the exhibition "Isaac Mizrahi: An Unruly History," at the Jewish Museum in New York City.

Vlisco

"Vlisco: African Fashion on a Global Stage" explores the impact of the Dutch textile company, founded in 1846, and features not only Vlisco's extraordinarily bold patterns but also the works of African and European fashion designers. At the Philadelphia Museum of Art (through Jan. 22, 2017).

Pictured: From Vlisco's Dazzling Graphics collection, 2011.

Credit: Fritz Kok/Philadelphia Museum of Art

Isaac Mizrahi

A view of sketches from Isaac Mizrahi's New York collection show, fall 1988, on view at "Isaac Mizrahi: An Unruly History."